Soldiers film drunk pranks in Afghan war zone

By Natalie O'Brien

Australia's elite soldiers have put their lives and those of others at risk with reckless and drunken behaviour while they were on a tour of duty in one of the world's most dangerous war zones.

Commandos from the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) operating in Afghanistan made a DVD series of their escapades while they were patrolling in enemy areas as well as of drunken nights inside the Australian base at Tarin Kowt.

High pressure: Soldiers from the Special Operations Task Group on an operation in Oruzgan province.Credit:Neil Ruskin

Members of the commando unit Charlie Company from the 2nd Commando Regiment featuring in the DVD were decorated for distinguished service, but one was also wounded during operations in Afghanistan.

Fairfax Media has uncovered the DVD series titled The Fist, which has been produced by a former commando from the regiment who now has a media and video production company in Sydney. It was made after Rotation X, the 10th rotation of a commando group within the SOTG, finished at the end of 2009.

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It includes a string of episodes more than an hour long, showing some of the commandos on Rotation X undertaking risky behaviour including drunken games, fighting, throwing hand grenades to catch fish while swimming in rivers, sunbaking and skylarking in enemy areas without their protective body armour.

The footage shows the commandos, who are known as the ''best of the best'', standing on top of the walls of the Tarin Kowt base at night with spotlights on, hitting golf balls in full view of anyone who may have been outside the walls.

Garth Pratten, from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, said the actions of some commandos had long been a source of friction among other army personnel. He said there had been ill feeling particularly about them being allowed access to alcohol and publicly abusing it, while others were restricted.

Dr Pratten also said there had been reports of at least two casualties from Afghanistan, which had been attributed to slackness in procedures.

''Doing dumb things can get people killed and people doing dumb things have been killed,'' Dr Pratten said.

Neil James from the Australian Defence Association said that, while the behaviour in the DVD was unacceptable, it was partially explained by their high pressure jobs. ''The unit did crack down on it,'' he said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Defence said the DVD had been provided to army headquarters last year and investigated. She said the investigation found the appropriate administrative and disciplinary action had already been taken against the commandos who had committed offences or breached policy.

This is not the first time the actions of Defence personnel in Afghanistan have been criticised.

A report last year from Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Smith also documents incidents of ''skylarking''. Colonel Smith attacked the behaviour of some soldiers, saying they expected to be treated as ''Roman gladiators'' and had an image of war based on movies and computer games.

His report included examples of them kicking footballs while in tactical positions, doing physical training in enemy areas, standing around bonfires in proximity to the Green Zone by night and greeting helicopters in thongs and T-shirts.

Former soldier and now military fellow at the Lowy Institute James Brown cited the Smith report in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry and also in his book Anzac's Long Shadow, saying its revelations showed the lack of transparency, accountability and political oversight of the armed forces.

Since Australia's Operation Slipper began in Afghanistan in 2002, 40 personnel were killed in action in Afghanistan and 261 wounded.

The DVD, which has been widely circulated in the army community, reveals commandos sitting around in deckchairs while on patrol without their body armour on, sunbathing, and sitting in a child's blow-up swimming pool with a rubber duck. It includes vision from a helmet camera capturing scenes of soldiers while engaged in gun battles in a valley and there are episodes entitled ''sending up an arsehole of hurt''.

In some scenes commandos are standing on the tops of their vehicles, still armed, and playing golf, not watching for the enemy. There is a segment called the ''10th annual boulder throwing competition'' in which commandos on patrol dig up a boulder and send it careering down a hillside on to civilian roads.

There are scenes of a drunken fight club at Tarin Kowt and ''Fist of the week'' is a commando lying on the floor of a shower so drunk he can't get up. A segment titled ''Murph's furfs'' features commentary laughing about how taxpayers' money is being spent well.

The DVD carries a disclaimer saying ''If you are on The Fist please do not be offended or get upset as this is not in any way an attempt to degrade or embarrass you …''

Commandos will continue to conduct partnered combat operations in Afghanistan until the end of the year.